Former F1 Champion Nelson Piquet Slammed for Racist Slur Directed at Lewis Hamilton

The 2021 season was iconic for Formula One as it was one of the most closely contested campaigns with the champion being crowned on the very last day of the racing calendar.

The F1 motorcade is headed to Silverstone for the next race engagement with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leading the pack for the individual championship while seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes languishes in the sixth place, almost a hundred points behind the leader.

Nearly a year ago, back in the very same circuit in England, there was an unfortunate collision that involved the two drivers. The result of the accident was that the Dutchman Verstappen was sent crashing into the tyre barricade and couldn’t finish the event as Hamilton raced to the top spot on the podium in his homeland.

Watch: F1 2022: Max Verstappen Races Ahead in Search of a 2nd World Title

Verstappen’s supporters booed the British driver for his part in the crash and many felt that Hamilton’s driving was reckless, to say the least. And among them was former Formula One champion Nelson Piquet.

A video of Brazilian Piquet, who is the father of Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly Piquet, using a racist slur to describe Hamilton while recounting the race surfaced recently and it has become rather problematic.

The three-time champion said “The little black guy put the car in and didn’t let (Verstappen swerve in)”

The collision occurred when Hamilton tried to overtake Verstappen’s Red Bull on the near side of a corner at Silverstone, but, the rear wheel of the RB16B caressed the Mercedes automobile as Verstappen tried to defend his position by turning in at the corner.

The deft touch was enough to send the Dutchman’s vehicle out of the track and smack into the barricade as the rear tyre came loose.

This clipping has popped up right around the time of Red Bull suspending their young driver Juri Vips for using a racial slur on a live stream recently.

Red Bull Suspend Junior Driver Juri Vips Over Racial Slur

Such instances have got racing fans wondering about the extent of racial abuse Lewis Hamilton, the sport’s only black driver and champion might have suffered over the years.

Hamilton created the Hamilton Commission to increase diversity in motorsport.

F1 has come out in support of the British driver after Piquet’s words on a Brazilian podcast went viral, stating that such derogatory and discriminatory language had no place in the sporting world and the wider society.

Hamilton has been the sport’s greatest ambassador for inclusivity and has spearheaded the sport’s advancements toward diversity.

With motorsport drivers going the way of political activism in recent years, diversity is a cause that needs to be addressed in the evidently elitist world of Formula One.

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